Two Is Company
by The King's Soldier
Summary: Skye finds Simmons alone in the kitchen one night after everyone else has gone to bed. The two friends end up sharing a drink and doing some much needed catching up. Set after 2x08, so spoilers up to that episode. Small appearance by May at the end.


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: I love the friendship between Skye and Simmons, and I really wish they had more scenes together. After everything that's been going on this season, I felt like they were both dealing with a lot and I really wanted to see them sort of talk through their issues together like normal girls. So this is basically that. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Two Is Company<strong>

Skye lay in her bunk staring at the ceiling for an hour before she decided she wasn't going to be getting any sleep. With a sigh, she rolled herself out of bed and changed into some jeans and a sweatshirt. (She probably wouldn't be coming back to her room before morning.) Then she slipped out of her bunk, easing the door shut behind her. Hunter was snoring lightly in the room beside hers. The lights were out under his door and all the others along the hallway, signaling that everybody else was either sound asleep or was busy making use of their insomnia elsewhere.

All of her practice sessions with May had taught Skye a thing or two about stealth. She barely made a sound as she crept down the hallway. The overhead lights were dimmed to a nighttime setting that just barely lit the hallway, but it didn't matter. Skye had learned these halls by heart.

She hadn't really decided where to go, but her feet carried her automatically in the direction of the hangar. On nights like these, she had taken to seeking refuge in the cockpit of the Bus. Sometimes the familiarity of it helped her sleep. Even after several months, the base still felt more like a temporary way station than the home their plane had become.

As she neared the kitchen, Skye noticed a small pool of light spilling out into the hallway from the kitchen door. Her brow furrowed as she walked towards it. She had thought everyone was asleep. Coulson seemed to have been fully cured of the effects of the serum, finally putting him back on a normal sleeping schedule. Mac and Fitz sometimes kept odd hours, but they would be working on their respective projects if they were up. May would be on the Bus if she had trouble sleeping, and Bobbi would be in the gym. Everyone else in the base seemed to sleep just fine. So who was in the kitchen?

Skye crept to the door and carefully peered around the frame. The walls of the room were lined with cabinets, a stove, a large industrial sink, a fairly large fridge, and counter space that was partially taken up by a microwave, toaster, and two coffeepots. Off to one side near the microwave and coffeepots was a table with a few chairs around it. In the mornings, the kitchen tended to be crowded since everyone got their own breakfast, but for the rest of the meals everyone tended to eat in the makeshift mess hall in the next room. Lunch and dinner were cooked on a sort of rotation system with everyone taking turns. Well, everyone except Fitz, who hadn't been able to cook worth a damn even before the accident, and Hunter, who had an odd obsession with spicy food that set everyone else's mouths on fire.

Tonight, however, Jemma Simmons was sitting in one of the chairs with a beer on the table in front of her. She was staring at the bottle as if she couldn't quite remember what to do with it. A small puddle of condensation had formed on the table around the bottle, a silent testament to how long it, and she, had been sitting there. One of the top lights was on, casting a pool of yellow light that just barely reached the edges of the table.

"Kinda late for a drink," Skye said, stepping into the kitchen.

Jemma jumped a bit at her voice as if she hadn't heard the other agent come in. Her hand tightened reflexively around the bottle, shifting it slightly so that it dragged some of the condensation across the wooden table top.

"Skye," Jemma said as she caught her breath. "I didn't know anyone else was awake."

"Nighttime is generally used for sleeping," Skye said with a small smile. She walked across the kitchen to the table, pulling back one of the chairs and dropping down into it with a dramatic thump. "Unfortunately, I can't seem to make that happen. What's your excuse?"

"Same," Jemma said quietly. She smiled weakly before looking back down at the bottle in her hand. She was still wearing the same clothes she had been in earlier that day. That was odd. Jemma had a tendency to get sucked into projects that kept her up until the wee hours of the morning, but when she wasn't down the rabbit hole, she was fiercely protective of her sleeping hours. The fact that she hadn't even tried to go to bed was concerning.

"You okay?" Skye asked carefully.

"I'm fine," Jemma told her. She didn't sound at all convincing.

"Really," Skye said drily. "And that's why you're drinking beer alone in the kitchen at one in the morning."

"Something like that," Jemma said quietly.

"Come on," Skye prodded. "What's going on?"

"I just..." Jemma hesitated and then sighed. "I'm worried about Fitz. What if he had gotten hurt today? Trip nearly died. What if that had been Fitz? He's not ready to be back in the field. He needs more time."

"Okay," Skye said, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest. "First of all, every agent that goes out on a mission is putting themselves in danger. That's part of the job. You went undercover at Hydra, for goodness sake! And you did fine. Fitz can handle a simple mission. And second, he did great out there." Jemma opened her mouth to protest, but Skye hurried on. "No, I'm serious. He had no problem handling the pressure. He's getting better. He really is. You need to give him a little more credit."

"I know," Jemma said quietly as she looked down at her bottle. "I just miss him."

"So do I," Skye admitted. Then she added, "I miss you too."

"Me?" Jemma asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Skye confirmed. "You've changed since you got back. Actually, since Ward threw you guys in the ocean. You're different. You're not the same Simmons. And you can't expect him to be the same Fitz."

"Everything was just so much easier before," Jemma said quietly. "Before Hydra. Back when it was just us. Living on a plane and saving the world one mission at a time."

"Back in the good ol' days," Skye said with a small smile. Jemma nodded.

"I suppose I've just felt out of place since I got back," she said finally. She looked around the kitchen as if seeing it for the first time. "Everything is different now. I don't really feel like I fit in anymore."

"You do," Skye insisted. "You're still part of this team."

"But I'm not needed," Jemma said sadly. "Nobody needs a biochemist here. Except for dissections, apparently. Which are quite a poor use of my talents. Even Fitz is going out on missions. And I'm sitting here sorting through old paperwork. Granted, it's Peggy Carter's paperwork. But I have a feeling the novelty will wear off eventually."

"That doesn't mean we don't need you," Skye told her. She leaned forward to rest her elbows in the table. "You may not feel like you're needed, but you are. This place wasn't the same without you. Everybody was all focused on the mission. There was no life. You brought that back." A smile tugged at her mouth. "Plus, I was about to go crazy with all the guys."

"You had May," Jemma pointed out.

"She might as well be a guy," Skye said drily. Jemma snorted in spite of herself. "But seriously. I'm glad you're back."

"So am I," Jemma said honestly. She looked down at the old wooden table and then at the cracked and faded tile covering the floor beneath it. "Although I certainly had better accommodations while I was undercover."

"Don't tell me you actually thought about joining Hydra," Skye teased.

"Only once or twice," Jemma joked. "They had much better coffee."

Skye laughed. Jemma grinned back in response. Suddenly it was as if the rest of the world had faded away and the only thing that existed was the two of them in the kitchen. It was like a welcome breath of fresh air.

"What about you?" Jemma asked, her smile turning a bit more serious. "What are you doing up?"

"Short version?" Skye said flatly. Jemma nodded encouragingly. Skye leaned back into her chair and sighed. "Well, my traitorous S.O. escaped from custody and burned his family's house down with them still in it, my father is a psychotic killer who is apparently working with Hydra, and I might be an alien because the crazy serum didn't make me lose my marbles."

Jemma's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wow."

"Yeah," Skye said.

Jemma pushed the bottle across the table toward Skye.

"You clearly need it more than I do," she said in response to Skye's questioning look.

"Thanks," Skye said. She lifted the bottle and took a drink. Then she made a face and set it back down. "Ugh. Warm. How long have you been down here?"

"A while," Jemma admitted. She shrugged as if it didn't matter before quickly changing the subject. "But you found your father?"

"Sort of," Skye said. "But if we're gonna have that talk, we need cold beer."

She got up and headed over to the fridge.

"What do you mean by sort of?" Jemma asked.

"Well," Skye said, opening the fridge, "we didn't find him exactly. We found his hideout and a bunch of guys he apparently killed."

"That must've been unpleasant," Jemma said sympathetically.

"That's one word for it," Skye said over her shoulder. She reached into the fridge and then pulled back, turning halfway around as she remembered something. "Oh, and we found a picture of him with what I guess was baby me. I've never actually seen a baby picture of myself before. It was kinda weird."

Jemma gasped in girlish glee.

"I can't believe I missed it!" she exclaimed. "I bet you were an adorable baby."

"A little pudgier than I imagined," Skye admitted. She pulled two cold beers out of the fridge and kicked the door closed behind her.

"Why didn't I know about any of this?" Jemma demanded.

"It happened the day you got out of Hydra," Skye said as she sat down at the table and handed one beer over to Jemma. "I guess in all the chaos, I just forgot to mention it."

"That's a pretty big detail to forget," Jemma pointed out, taking the offered beer with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, so maybe I left it out on purpose," Skye admitted as she pulled the top off of her beer. "What would you do if you found out your long lost dad was a killer? You probably wouldn't advertise it."

"Good point," Jemma conceded.

"Besides," Skye said. "You forgot to tell me you were going undercover."

"It wasn't like I could just tell you," Jemma said defensively as she opened her own bottle. "It's called undercover for a reason."

"Whatever," Skye muttered. "Next time, I better be in the loop."

"Or what?" Jemma asked.

"Or... I don't know what," Skye admitted. "But I'll think of something awful."

"Fair enough," Jemma said with a smirk. She took a drink of her beer and gave an approving nod before setting the bottle back on the table. "And speaking of Hydra. You said your father's working for them?"

"Yup," Skye said, taking a drink of her own beer as she looked around the kitchen, trying to act as if she wasn't avoiding Jemma's gaze. "They ran into him on the mission today. He's actually the one who helped patch up Trip."

"What?" Jemma said in surprise.

"Coulson thinks he was scoping out the team," Skye explained. "Trying to get a feel for the people I'm with. Apparently he's pretty eager to meet me."

"What about you?" Jemma asked. "Do you want to meet him?"

"Honestly?" Skye said. She sighed and looked down at the bottle resting on the table between her hands. "I really don't know. On one hand, he's my dad. I've dreamed of meeting my parents ever since I can remember. On the other, he's a killer who works for an evil organization that wants to rule the world. What would you do?"

"I don't know," Jemma admitted.

"Me neither," Skye said quietly.

They both took a long sip of their beers, each lost in their own thoughts. Then Jemma suddenly sat up straight.

"Hang on," she blurted. "Did you say you might be an alien?"

Skye chuckled a little as she set her bottle back down.

"Did it seriously take this long for that to sink in?" she asked.

"Well, I was sort of distracted by finding out you hadn't told me about finding your father," Jemma pointed out.

"Touché," Skye said. "Yeah, Coulson thinks I might be an alien. So does May, although for some reason that actually doesn't surprise me."

"Because the serum didn't make you crazy like everyone else?" Jemma asked.

"Partly," Skye said. "And also because the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who found me as a baby labeled me an 0-8-4."

"I've never heard of a person having that designation," Jemma said, wrinkling her forehead in thought.

"Neither has anybody else, apparently," Skye said quietly. She took a long drink of her beer. When she set the bottle down, her eyes bored into the tabletop as if trying to avoid Jemma's gaze.

"So... what does that mean?" Jemma asked finally.

"No idea," Skye said with a nonchalant shrug. "I could turn into a psycho and kill everybody, or it could turn out that I'm totally normal and just happened to be immune to the crazy Kool-Aid. Either way, I'm even less normal."

"Normal is over-rated," Jemma told her. "Who on this base is really normal? And besides, it doesn't matter what you are. What matters is that you're Skye."

"Fitz said he would never want to meet a human 0-8-4," Skye told her quietly. "Mac didn't seem too keen on it either."

"Because they didn't know it was you," Jemma said strongly. "They both like you. Everybody here likes you. You're our glue. And that won't change even if you are an alien."

"Even if I turn green and grow little antennae?" Skye asked with a straight face.

"Even then," Jemma told her warmly. Skye smiled. Then Jemma's eyes widened as a thought struck her. "You know... Thor's an alien."

"That's what May said," Skye told her, leaning back and taking another drink.

"He's not bad looking," Jemma said seriously. "If you're an alien, maybe you have extended family..."

"Jemma Simmons," Skye said, trying to look indignant. "Are you trying to hook up with my potential cousins?"

"I am simply stating that Thor is good looking," Jemma said innocently. "And so are all the other Asgardians."

She quickly lifted her bottle and took a long drink to stop herself from saying anything else that Skye could make fun of.

"Yeah, well, Loki's an alien too," Skye pointed out. "And his little army almost destroyed New York."

"But he looked very dashing while they did it," Jemma said, barely holding back a grin.

"Unbelievable," Skye said with a shake of her head. "You have a crush on the alien who tried to destroy the world."

"I do not," Jemma said defensively.

"And he killed our boss," Skye reminded her. She set her bottle down hard for emphasis.

"Well, to be fair, he didn't stay dead," Jemma argued.

"Jemma Simmons is a fangirl," Skye said with a grin.

"Can I not appreciate a good looking man?" Jemma asked innocently.

"Not if he's trying to enslave humanity," Skye told her.

"I never said I wanted to date him," Jemma pointed out.

"If he asked you out, would you say yes?" Skye teased.

"Absolutely not!" Jemma cried indignantly. "Loki may be good looking, but he is also deranged. He tried to kill his own brother. Why would I ever want to date someone like that?"

"You wouldn't," Skye said quietly. Her smile faded and she looked down at the table. Her right hand twitched repeatedly against the bottle as if trying to make a fist and then deciding better of it. "He betrayed his own people. And no matter how much you think love them, you can't trust a traitor. Even when they say they love you back."

"Skye," Jemma said quickly, her tone deeply apologetic. "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," Skye said. She shook her head as if she didn't care, but the hurt was clear in her eyes.

"No, it's not," Jemma told her. "It's not alright at all."

An awkward silence fell as they both thought about Ward. Even after so many months, the team was still feeling the aftershock of his painful betrayal.

"I never thanked you," Skye said suddenly. "For stepping in front of me when they walked him out. I mean, I know you did it because of what he did to you and Fitz, but-"

"I didn't," Jemma interrupted. "Well, I did. But Fitz and I weren't the only ones I did it for. What Ward did to you... It was wrong. He used you and he had no right. He broke your heart. No one should ever be hurt like that."

"No one should ever be trapped in a box at the bottom of the ocean," Skye said quietly. Jemma looked down at the bottle in her hand, so Skye kept going. "I know Fitz is the one who got brain damage, but it can't have been easy for you either."

"It wasn't," Jemma said softly. "It isn't. Sometimes... sometimes I think I'm still down there. And then I wake up and everything's dark and for a moment..."

She fell silent, unable to continue. Skye reached across the table and quietly took Jemma's hand. The scientist squeezed back tight. When she looked up, her eyes were far too dark for the awkward scientist Skye knew.

"I'll never forgive him," Jemma said fiercely.

"No one expects you to," Skye told her. She gave Jemma's hand a final squeeze and then pulled back, but she stayed leaning on the table so their arms were almost touching. She hesitated a moment before seeming to make a decision. "I don't always get much sleep either. I think it might just be this place. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have somewhere we can stay and be... well, sort of safe. But it's not..."

"Home," Jemma finished quietly.

"Yeah," Skye agreed. "Sometimes when I can't sleep, I go out to the Bus just to be someplace more familiar."

"Does it help?" Jemma asked.

"Sometimes," Skye told her. She looked around the kitchen as if scrutinizing it. Then she turned back to Jemma, sitting up straighter as an idea struck her. "You want to get out of here? Go do... I don't know... something normal?"

"Like what?" Jemma asked. Skye sucked in a breath and held it as she thought.

"Movie?" she offered.

"Alright," Jemma said, lifting her beer. Her eyes widened as she put on her best begging face. "Can we watch something Disney?"

"What else?" Skye said with a grin. Jemma grinned happily at her victory. "Bus?"

Jemma finished taking a drink and set her bottle down with a bright smile.

"Absolutely."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

It was early in the morning when May stepped onto the Bus. She still had a while before Skye would be up for Tai Chi. Since Coulson had started taking the Bus out again, May had developed a morning routine of running a quick check of all the systems. She said it was just to be sure they were prepared in case an emergency evacuation became necessary, but the truth was that part of her just liked being in the familiarity of her old cockpit.

As she headed up the spiral stairs, she could hear a sound coming from further into the plane. Curious, May slowed her pace. It sounded like it was coming from the living room. She crept quietly around the corner and then stopped completely as she saw what had happened.

Skye and Jemma were curled up together on the couch. Jemma's head was leaned back against the top of the couch, and Skye had slumped over with her head just barely touching the scientist's shoulder. They were both fast asleep. Two empty beer bottles sat on the coffee table in front of them along with a laptop that was currently rolling the credits to some animated movie. The noise was coming from there.

May paused for a moment, just looking at the sight in front of her. Then she stepped over to the coffee table and quietly closed the laptop. The music stopped immediately. May cast a quick glance toward the couch. Jemma shifted a bit, but neither of the girls woke up.

With that done, May crept over to Skye's old bunk. The standard issue blanket was still on her bed. May pulled it off and walked back over to the couch, where she carefully placed the blanket over both of the girls. Then she picked up the two bottles, using the edge of her sleeve to wipe away what little condensation had collected around the bottoms. After taking another look at the two occupants of the couch to make sure they were still asleep, May headed back toward the stairs. She could run her check later. Skye's phone alarm would wake them both up soon enough. Until then, she was more than willing to let them sleep.

Skye waited until she heard the sound of quiet footsteps descending the metal stairs before finally cracking her eyes open. She knew the silent visitor had been May. No one else could move that quietly. And for all her bluster, the older agent was extremely protective of her team. They all knew she could turn into a mother grizzly if the need arose. Even so, she liked for everyone to think that she was a mean old bear. Well, fair enough. Skye was more than willing to keep that secret. Knowing May would take on an army to protect her and the others was one of the main reasons Skye was able to sleep at night.

She eased her phone out of her jeans, pulling her arm out from under the blanket so she could see the time. She still had a good hour before May would want her up for Tai Chi. Plenty of time to get a little more sleep.

Skye slipped her phone back into her pocket and readjusted her half of the blanket before leaning her head back against the couch. Jemma shifted beside her, tugging the blanket tighter around herself and mumbling something about the molecular structure of a fez. Skye chuckled quietly as she closed her eyes. It was true that a lot had changed in the last few months. But there were some things that just never would.

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><p>So how was it? Please leave a review and let me know what you thought. It will make my day. :) Also feel free to go to my profile and check out my other four Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stories. One of them is one shot analyzing the members of the team based on their movie preferences, and the other three are different moments between Skye and May that I wish we had gotten in the show. Thanks for reading!<p> 


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